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Overview

A debut novel full of heart, in which love, friendship, and charity teach a young woman to live a bigger life.

When Madeline Stone walks away from Chicago and moves five hundred miles north to the coast of Lake Superior, in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, she isn't prepared for how much her life will change.

Charged with caring for an aging family friend, Madeline finds herself in the middle of beautiful nowhere with Gladys and Arbutus, two octogenarian sisters-one sharp and stubborn, the other sweeter than sunshine. As Madeline begins to experience the ways of the small, tight-knit town, she is drawn into the lives and dramas of its residents. It's a place where times are tough and debts run deep, but friendship, community, and compassion run deeper. As the story hurtles along-featuring a lost child, a dashed love, a car accident, a wedding, a fire, and a romantic reunion-Gladys, Arbutus, and the rest of the town teach Madeline more about life, love, and goodwill than she's learned in a lifetime.

A heartwarming novel, South of Superior explores the deep reward in caring for others, and shows how one who is poor in pocket can be rich in so many other ways, and how little it often takes to make someone happy.

What People Are Saying

Philip Caputo

“An unsentimental but warm-hearted view of life in an isolated Michigan town. Reminiscent of Richard Russo, South of Superior is an engaging tale told with wit and charm.”--(Philip Caputo)

Lesley Kagan

“"I was captivated by Ms. Airgood’s setting and her characters, they’re pitch pefect. South of Superior is a wonderful debut novel. I couldn’t get the story out of my mind even weeks after I put it down. It was that haunting, that heartfelt. Brava!”--(Lesley Kagan, author of Whistling in the Dark)

Tiffany Baker

“A heartfelt ode to the simpler things in life. You’ll be delighted and embraced by the strong willed characters and the small town setting and when you’re finished you’ll want to go embrace the people in your own circle.”--(Tiffany Baker, author of The Little Giant of Aberdeen County)

Beth Hoffman

“South of Superior is a charming story where hardships forge character, friendships endure for decades, and love unfolds in unusual ways. Most of all it is a celebration of the ever-surprising strengths of the human spirit.”--(Beth Hoffman, New York Times–bestselling author of Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)

Connie May Fowler

“A story that is peculiarly American, brimming with lessons about compassion and community. South of Superior is not to be forgotten.”--(Connie May Fowler, author of Before Women Had Wings)

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

In Airgood's charming yet uninspired debut, Madeline Stone takes a job caring for Gladys Hansen, the final companion of the grandfather she never knew, and Gladys's ailing sister in McAllaster, Mich. On the north coast of Lake Superior she finds "a wide, wild quiet, so spacious it seemed endless, and she wondered how it might change a person." Gladys, the younger, feistier of the two sisters, is desperate to hold onto the old ways even as modern life becomes too obvious to ignore. She's the bad cop to her sister's good, and Madeline finds it hard to adjust to her meanness. She also finds it discomfiting when locals comment on her resemblance to ancestors she never knew, and Gladys is less than forthcoming about the Stone family history. To help fill her days, Madeline takes a part-time job at the local pizzeria and becomes close to Paul, the owner, who has financial woes of his own. Over time, Madeline and Gladys make peace, and old secrets are revealed. An abandoned child that Madeline takes in finally allows Airgood to address her prevailing theme—the true nature of family. (June)

Kirkus Reviews

Madeline Stone goes back to her roots in rural Michigan and finds the missing bits of herself, in a heartwarming if drawn-out debut.

Matching pace to place, there's little urgency either in Airgood's novel or in McAllaster, the small town on the shore of Lake Superior for which 35-year-old Madeline impulsively, implausibly gives up life, work and a fiancé in Chicago. The reason given is to take care of sweet, elderly Arbutus and her cranky sister Gladys, who had been the "good friend" of Joe, Madeline's grandfather. When Madeline's druggie young mother abandoned her illegitimate baby, Joe could have taken the child in, but he refused, and Madeline was brought up by a kind stranger whose long, recently concluded battle with cancer has equipped her for taking care of the elderly. Finding friends, a little family and the attractive owner of the pizza parlor in McAllaster, Madeline also develops an ambition to take over Gladys' and Arbutus' decayed but lovely old hotel. Airgood uses scattered events (a court case, a fire, a traffic accident) to point out community values, the long play of rural history and therapeutic, neighborly good deeds. More sensitive, less sugary than similar books in the genre, this combination of romance and self-discovery ends, unsurprisingly, in a tidy, happy place.

Related Subjects

Meet the Author

Reading Group Guide

INTRODUCTION
When Madeline Stone walks away from her Chicago life and moves five hundred miles north to the coast of Lake Superior, in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, she isn't prepared for how much her life will change. Charged with caring for an aging family friend,

Madeline finds herself in the middle of beautiful nowhere with Gladys and Artubus, two octogenarian sisters—one sharp and stubborn, the other sweeter than sunshine. As she is drawn into the dramas of the small, tight-knit town, Madeline learns that it's a place where times are tough and debts run deep, but where friendship, community, and compassion run deeper.

A debut novel full of heart, South of Superior shows that there is a deep reward in caring for others, that one who is poor in pocket can be rich in so many other ways, and that happiness often comes from the smallest gestures.

ABOUT ELLEN AIRGOOD

Ellen Airgood runs a diner in Grand Marais, Michigan. This is her first novel.

AN ESSAY FROM ELLEN AIRGOODFrom Waitress To Writer

I grew up on a small farm, the youngest of four children. My father was a blacksmith and a schoolteacher. For the last nineteen years I've been a waitress in Grand Marais, Michigan. I was twenty-five when I came to this tiny, Lake Superior town, on a camping trip with my sister, and fell in love with the man who made my cheese sandwich and chocolate malt at the local diner. We met, exchanged assessing, almost challenging gazes, and six months later we got married. I told my sister we would, on the way back to our campsite that first day. "You're crazy," she said worriedly. But pretty soon she grinned, shook her head, started getting into the spirit of it. "Well," she said. "This is going to be interesting." And it has been.

I've never been sorry. My husband Rick and I run a diner together, a job which is always consuming, often punishing, and hugely fulfilling. Most of what I know about maturity and compassion, not to mention story, I've learned from waiting tables. We work eighty to a hundred hours a week together almost year around, and one way or another we've faced the constant barrage of setbacks and frustrations and equipment failures that restaurant work is, the high stress and long hours. There is so much satisfaction in it, though: the goodness of hard work, the joy of feeding people a meal they love, the delight of long friendships, the pride in a job well done. All kinds of people come here from all kinds of places, and we get to meet them, to hear their stories, and pretty often we get to make them happy for the time that they are here.

This is the route I took to becoming a writer. I didn't get an MFA or study writing in school. I could have learned about life anywhere, but fate brought me here, to the end of the earth and a tiny town that time forgot. My customers have given me good practice as a storyteller, too. It's a matter of survival. If I can entertain people, draw them over to my side, they won't murder me when I'm the only waitress of the floor and the cook is swamped and the wait is long and we're out of silverware and I didn't know the fish was gone when I took their order.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Gladys always tells Madeline how much of an outsider she is, how much she doesn't understand the ways of McAllester. By the end of the novel do you think Madeline is a part of the town? In what ways has she let the community of McAllester transform her? In what way has she transformed the community?

Throughout the novel, Madeline is looking for a sense of purpose, for something to guide her life. At the end of the novel, do you think she's found that sense of purpose? What do you think it is? How is it different from what she was expecting when she first came to McAllester?

Change is a major theme of the novel, and yet so much of what both Gladys and Madeline love about McAllester is how the town follows an older way of living. What kind of changes happen in the novel? Which character do you think is the most changed by the end?

While Madeline and Gladys are deeply stubborn people, Arbutus is more likely to be adaptable. Do you think this makes Arbutus any less strong than the other women? In what ways is she just as stubborn? What do you think Madeline learns from Arbutus's way of getting her own way?

Think about the Bensons. Do you think that they are wrong to want to improve their business? What could they have done to be more in keeping with the community? What does Madeline learn that they do not?

Values are important to all the characters in the novel. How are Madeline's values different from Gladys's? Paul's? What do you think Randi's values are? The Bensons? Think about yourself. Which character do you feel most similar to?

At the start of the novel, Madeline takes an immediate dislike to Randi while Gladys has more patience for her. What do you think Gladys sees that Madeline does not? Think about how Madeline and Randi's relationship changes. How do you think Madeline's increased knowledge both about herself and about her history changes how she feels about Randi?

We never get to meet Joe Stone or learn why he gave Madeline away. What do you think his motivations were? Do you think he made the right choice? How did his giving Madeline away make her more like the Stones?

Life in McAllester is hard. Why do you think Madeline ultimately chooses it over returning to Chicago? What virtues do you see in it? What qualities would you want to emulate in your own life?

The novel ends on a note of anticipation. What do you think will happen to the characters after the book has ended? How do you think what Madeline has learned will help her handle future hardships?

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Your Recommendations:

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A winner

Gladys Hanson sends a sympathy card to Madeline Stone following the death of Emmy the woman who raised the latter. Madeline's biological mother Jackie abandoned her when she was two years old and her late maternal grandfather Joe refused to raise her. Gloria also invites Madeline to move from Chicago to McAllister, Michigan to help her with her arthritic ailing sister Arbitus "Butte". Although Gladys was Joe's paramour, Madeline accepts leaving her job and boyfriend behind. Gladys proves unfriendly, but Butte makes her feel at home.

At the general store, Madeline meets pizza parlor owner Paul Garceau who also cooks at the nearby prison. The sisters argue over seeing the mothballed Hotel Leppinen they own as they have no money. Gladys sends Madeline to the hotel to get something. Madeline loves the hotel and thinks of possibilities. She goes to the pizza shop and asks for a waitressing job. Paul hires her. Gladys is upset but Butte is pleased with Madeline obtaining a job. Single mom Randi dumps Grey on Madeline at the pizza shop, but fails to return. Madeline takes Grey home with her. Later Madeline learns from Mary about her Great Uncle Walter who lives in a home for simple minded people; she visits him. As Madeline tries to renovate the hotel, she angers seemingly everyone except Butte; so considers leaving.

The key ensemble cast especially the heroine, her "great-aunts" and to a lesser degree her beloved is all developed while a sense of being in Michigan is a key element that anchors the plot. The reason Paul becomes angry with Madeline seems weak though critical. Still readers will enjoy South of Superior, as Madeline and the audience learn what family means.

Harriet Klausner

6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

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A must read for anyone who loves the southern shore of Lake Superior

If your mother had abandoned you in a soup kitchen at age three and your grandfather had refused to raise you, what kind of adult would you be?
How would you react when years after your grandfather's death, a stranger asks if you'd be interested in relocating to the isolated village where your he had made his home? Would a deep hidden anger and yearning for answers prompt you to leave behind a sophisticated fiance and the bustle of Chicago for a life as uncertain as the weather on the greatest of all lakes? Author Airgood has created a town peopled with strong, but flawed characters, each one adding to Madeline's unfolding understanding of her heritage and her future. Ellen Airgood's small town has outlived the grandeur of the mining and logging days, just as the real small towns that dot the UP's shoreline. You won't find the opulence of earlier times, but you'll find that "sisu" (Finnish for courage) still abounds.

This book will offer much for book clubs to discuss, and as someone for whom Lake Superior has an almost mystical pull, South of Superior has demanded that I make yet one more trip to its shores.

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

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6327560

Posted July 17, 2011

Loved it.

Remeniscent of the old TV show Northern Exposures, South of Superior is a tall drink of ice cold lemonade in an eccentric forgotten town where its inhabitants share a peculiar brand of small town love and devotion. Amazing read.

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted July 27, 2011

Excellent!

This is a perfect summer read! An excellent book, and the author leaves us wanting a sequel.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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Just finished reading this on my Nook from my library and am no

Just finished reading this on my Nook from my library and am now ordering it to have in hardcover. I live in Michigan where this story takes place which made it even more interesting. I could easily picture where the story was taking place. That said, it was a great story, totally kept my interest and I had some late nights reading &quot;just one more chapter&quot; to see what happened next, how a particular issue was resolved and to see who ended up where and with who. I'll be reading it again for sure.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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jessinvab

Posted August 4, 2012

Fantastic summer read. The characters are perfect for their fla

Fantastic summer read. The characters are perfect for their flaws and failures, and the cast of supporting quirky characters are loveable. I loved every second and was sad that the book had to end.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted July 24, 2012

book to swap with friends

i adore this book. Wonderful bonds between the characters. Great story about hardships and getting thru struggles. Waiting for the next book by this new author.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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dto

Posted July 4, 2012

Sorry not a book I enjoyed.

Yes, I read the book start to finish, it is my habit to never quit, always hoping that it will get better. Sadly this one did not. I bought it because of the locale of the story line. Author did do well drawing the reader to the location and giving a great sense of reality to the location. But just not the book for me.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted June 30, 2012

So far, so good!

I have not finished this book yet, but wish I could sit down and do nothing else but read. Having spent time "south of Superior" growing up, I have some insight into the area and its history. That said, you do not need any prior knowledge to enjoy and appreciate this book. Well-written with multi-layered/faceted characters, I love how the storyline is evolving. Worth spending time with!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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VirtuousWomanKF

Posted May 30, 2012

Sit back, relax and enjoy a sweet story for a great summer read.

Sit back, relax and enjoy a sweet story for a great summer read.

This past week, my husband and I went to Grand Marais, Minnesota, along Lake Superior for a relaxing vacation. I had seen this novel and decided that it was a perfect time to read, South of Superior by Ellen Airgood. The setting for this novel is much like the atmosphere and countryside of where we were staying. It is a beautiful place with the back drop of Lake Superior. I was very surprised at the slow the pace of life and how few tourists invaded their local. Such is the story of &quot;South of Superior.&quot;

The novel is a little slow and off beat but very true to the area that it is written about. The locals are friendly, caring and reliable. Richness in friendships is the wealth they rely upon and one to be most treasured.

Sit back, relax and enjoy a sweet story for a great summer read.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Engaging. Set in Michigan, comes a story of Madeline, alone in

Engaging. Set in Michigan, comes a story of Madeline, alone in the world and making her way back to this simple, very &quot;old school&quot; town, to care for an ailing friend. Yawn! Didn't think this would hold my attention,however the characters grow on you and reel you in. This is such a simple but warm and fullsome book. I didn't want the story to end. And for sure, I want more from this author!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted February 15, 2012

Highly Recommend

This was a nice book to sit back and relax with. It makes you appreciate the little things. I look forward to her writing another book.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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AmeG

Posted January 16, 2012

A wonderful surprise.

Ellen is the kid sister of my best friend from high school, and so I bought this book to be "supportive." I began reading and found that I could not put it down. It was a wonderful surprise that the characters were solid and the story was compelling. I got involved with the story and the characters and really ended up caring what happened. Ellen's style is light and respectful, and I can see how the experience she has as the owner of a diner has made it's mark on her writing. She didn't press her characters to do things but allowed them to make their own decisions. She didn't judge. Her characters and story developed and blossomed in their own time, and the story was not too short or too long. I would highly recommend reading!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Very enjoyable book, true to the UP

I really enjoyed getting to know all these characters and I am sorry the book is over. I am from the UP, so I had to read this. And I find it to be so true to the lives and interests and sheer difficulty of making a life in in the UP. Very well done.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted July 23, 2014

I lived in the UP for several years as a child and teenager, and

I lived in the UP for several years as a child and teenager, and my grandparents and their ancestors are from the UP, Swedes &amp; Norwegians who came over to work as subsistence farmers and loggers in lumber camps, one of my own great-great-great grandmothers was a cook in a UP lumber camp, as Madeline's great-grandmother Ada Stone was. I enjoyed Madeline's detective work, in trying to learn more about her family. This book struck home to me on so many levels, I could picture people I knew acting like this, and I empathized with Madeline falling in love with Lake Superior. I brought this book with me on a recent camping trip, and could hardly put it down as I curled up in a chair by our campfire. If you grew up in small town America, you can appreciate this book. It was like a visit home to my beloved UP, for me . . . thank you to the author for a story that brings back so many memories. I kept trying to figure out where her fictitious towns would be, finally realized that McAllister was likely Grand Marais, and Crosscut with the prison was likely Newberry or Kinross, or both blended together. I liked the references to the Soo and other towns I knew. A lovely book that focuses on the wild north, and the meaning of family. Highly recommended.

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Anonymous

Posted August 23, 2013

Something different

I would give this book 31/2 stars. What I really liked about it was the glimpse into a different way of life in a different part of the country than what is usually presented. The characters live a very basic, even hand to mouth, existence. They are real, hard-working, accepting of each others sometimes wild eccentricities, and almost always have each others' backs. Into this community walks someone who is from them but not of them, who has decided to walk away from a comfortably well-off future and needs a place to hole up for awhile. She has a definite chip on her shoulder, and is definitely conflicted about being there. Now she has to decide what her future will look like.

My criticisms have to do with some of the situations that didn't seem believable or organic to the story, merely manipulations so that things could move forward in a certain way. But the tone of the book has stayed with me, and if you too are looking for something a little different, it's worth the read.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted November 18, 2012

Good Book

I read this book with my book group. I enjoyed it.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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sreeder

Posted September 7, 2012

Great Story

This book was recommended by a co-worker and I truly enjoyed it!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted August 27, 2012

Wonderful story.

Loved it.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted June 22, 2012

Not worth it.....

Decent story, okay characters....they weren't good enough to love or hate. It was honestly....just plain boring. I will neber buy another of this author's slow moving books. There's just no story there.

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